On September 14, 1862, Robert E. Lee's opportunistic first invasion of the North was turned back at the gaps of South Mountain near Boonsboro, Maryland. The fighting was desperate and for the numbers engaged rather bloody. It has become just a footnote in history, but it was here that the Confederacy reached it's high tide.

South Mountain by Rick Reeve

South Mountain by Rick Reeve depicting the wounding of General Garland

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Remembering New Jersey's Fallen

New Jersey Monument, South Mountain

During the fighting that would take place at Crampton's Gap, Alfred Torbert's all-New Jersey brigade went into the fight at a critical moment. The momentum of the Union assault stalled and the men of Joseph Bartlett's brigade were running out of ammunition. Torbert was ordered to advance his brigade and after a sharp fight, he ordered a charge. "A cheer, and the men went forward at the double-quick...", Torbert's men broke the Confederate line and pushed up the Burkittsville Road slamming into the flank of Confederate reinforcements that were hastily thrown into the fight. Flushed with victory, the New Jersey men push on and with other 6th Corps soldiers, gain control of Crampton's Gap. When the fighting was over, 174 men from New Jersey laid, killed or wounded, on the mountainside. Listed here are 58 of those men, 32% of those reported.

1st New Jersey (Lt. Colonel
Mark W. Coliet commanding)

Killed:

Private
James Cox, Co. C

Private
John Brown, Co. E

Private
Joseph E. Dilks, Co. E

Corporal
Julius Houriett, Co. I

Private
Patrick McGourty, Co. I

Private
Kiren Campbell, Co. I

Private
Ernest Leu, Co. K

Wounded:

Private
Charles Melman, Co. B (died of wounds 10/31/62)

Private
Charles Exner, Co. C (died of wounds 10/18/62)

Private
George S. Heany, Co. D

Private
Charles Mclaughlin, Co. E

2nd New Jersey(Colonel Samuel Buck commanding)

Killed:

Private
William Callender, Co. A

Private
James P. Lyndon, Co. C

Private
John McMonigle, Co. C

Private
Jacob Windecker, Co. D

Private Conrad
Reis, Co. E

Private
Jerry Carroll, Co. F

Private
William Mcvay, Co. F

Corporal
George Somerville, Co. H

Private
Byron Lawton, Co. I

Private
William McCloud, Co. I

Private
Emanuel Boudiette, Co. K

Private
Andrew Hemberger, Co. K

Wounded:

Private
Jacob Smith, Co. B (Died of wounds 10/8/62)

Private
Thomas Kendall, Co. C (Died of wounds Sept. 1862)

Private Samuel
Mellor, Co. C (Died of wounds 11/1/62)

Private Philip
Tanner, Co. D (Died of wounds 10/7/62)

Private
William Kleine, Co. E

Private Herman
Jansen, Co. E (Died of wounds 10/1/62)

Private
Boles Taylor, Co. F

Private
David Burtchell, Co. H

Private
Jabez Fearey, Co. K

Private
Robert Grabeck, Co. K

Private
William A. Leibe, Co. K

Private
William Nalborough, Co. K (died of wounds 10/1/62)

3rd New Jersey (Colonel
Henry Brown commanding)

Killed:

Private
James T. Caffery, Co. A

Private
Michael Donnell, Co. A

Private
William J. Ballenger, Co. C

Private
Charles H. Bacon, Co. F

Private
Thomas B. Keen, Co. F

Sergeant
Theodore McCoy, Co. G

Corporal
Thomas Alcott, Co. H

Private
Hugh Loughran, Co. H

Private
David Harrigan, Co. I

Private
Anthony H.Perry, Co. I

Private
William Garry, Co. K

Wounded:

Private
James Hollingsworth, Co. B

Private
James Williams, Co. E (died of wounds 9/17/62)

4th New Jersey (Colonel
William B. Hatch commanding)

Killed:

Adjutant Josiah
S. Studdiford, Regt.

Private Samuel
S. Hull, Co. B

Sergeant
George J. Pettit, Co. C

Private
Andrew Flash, Co. C

Private
Joseph E. Ware, Co. F

Private
Mitchell Walker, Co. I

Private
Daniel Dixon, Co. I

Sergeant
William W. Palmer, Co. K

Private
Robert C. Curry, Co. K

Wounded:

Private
Jesse G. Eastlack, Co. H (Died of wounds 03/27/63)

Sources:

New Jersey,
Adjutant-General's Office. RECORD OF OFFICERS AND MEN OF NEW JERSEY IN THE
CIVIL WAR, 1861-1865.[Trenton, NJ, John L. Murphy, Steam Book and Job Printer,
1876.] Two volumes. "Published by authority of the Legislature."
William S. Stryker, Adjutant General. (found online at the New Jersey State Library)

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About Me

I am a student of the Civil War. I've had an interest in studying this conflict since I was ten and my passion for it has just grown ever since. I want to bring to life the stories of those men who fought and bled so that this nation could experience a "new birth of freedom". I am a former NPS intern at South Mountain State Battlefield and also a former Historical Intepreter at Fort Frederick State Park.